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FloridaGal
Inspiring
December 31, 2020
Answered

How to move an object more precisely with the arrow keys

  • December 31, 2020
  • 4 replies
  • 5602 views

Holiday greetings all, trust everyone is keeping safe and healthy!

Now for my question. I need to move graphics/objects within a document to precisely align them visually (Ctrl-4) within columns.

Snap to grid/guides is turned off because the bounding boxes aren't consistent in size so I need to move them by eyeball and mouse so the border within the graphic itself aligns with the column guides.

But moving them with the arrow keys overshoots where I want them and seems always to snap to the guides even though I have that turned off. Is there a way to adjust the movement settings for the arrow keys so they aren't as "macro", when I need them to be "micro"?

When I press and hold with the mouse so I can move more precisely, they still seem to snap to the column guides even though "snap to" is turned off.

I haven't explained this very well at all in my frustration, I'm hoping someone can figure out what I mean 🙂

Many thanks for time and input!!

Correct answer jmlevy

And if you press simultaneously on Cmd (Mac) and Shift, or Ctrl (Windows) and Shift while using the arrow keys, you divide the increment by 10.

4 replies

S
SerraSemi
Known Participant
September 27, 2024

Right now it's defaulting to 0.0394 in every time I put in 1mm.  

Anyone else have this issue?  

What's the smallest size I can set this to?

Abhishek Rao
Community Manager
Abhishek RaoCommunity Manager
Community Manager
September 27, 2024

Hi @SemsLumens,

 

I understand how frustrating it must be to deal with that conversion issue. When setting your increments in InDesign, it sounds like the program is defaulting to inches instead of millimeters. To fix this:

1. Go to Preferences > Units & Increments.
2. Under the "Ruler Units" section, change both Horizontal and Vertical units to "Millimeters".
3. Now you should be able to set your increment to 1mm without it converting to inches.

For the smallest increment, InDesign allows you to go as small as 0.001 mm. I hope this helps, and let me know if the issue persists!

 

Best,  
Abhishek Rao

    S
    SerraSemi
    Known Participant
    September 27, 2024

    Thank you. That worked.

    Dave Creamer of IDEAS
    Community Expert
    Dave Creamer of IDEASCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    December 31, 2020

    From the InDesign help file (Windows/Macintosh):

    https://helpx.adobe.com/indesign/user-guide.html/indesign/using/default-keyboard-shortcuts.ug.html

    David Creamer: Community Expert (ACI and ACE 1995-2023)
    L
    Community Expert
    LaubenderCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    December 31, 2020

    Hi FloridaGal,

    another option is to use a document grid so if you move or change the size of an object, frame edges will snap to the grid.

     

    Preferences > Grids > Document Grid

    View > Grids & Guides > Snap to Document Grid

     

    Regards,
    Uwe Laubender

    ( ACP )

    TᴀW
    TᴀW
    Legend
    December 31, 2020

    You can set the cursor-key increments in Preferences > Units and Increments.

    Ariel

    F
    FloridaGalAuthor
    Inspiring
    December 31, 2020

    Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy!!

    HAPPY DANCE!! Thanks SO much.

      jmlevy
      Community Expert
      jmlevyCommunity ExpertCorrect answer
      Community Expert
      December 31, 2020

      And if you press simultaneously on Cmd (Mac) and Shift, or Ctrl (Windows) and Shift while using the arrow keys, you divide the increment by 10.

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